California scrub jays are a joy to watch. They are confident, inquisitive, animated, thoughtful, vocal and can authentically mimic other birds.
They've been observed imitating the calls of red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks either to deter other jays from their food stash or as a warning of danger. Their call is described as buzzy and raucous which could make them irritating neighbors.
The California scrub jay was once lumped with Woodhouse's scrub-jay and together were called Western scrub jays but, have since been separated into two distinct species.
California scrub jays are native to the state and common throughout their range from southern British Colombia south to Baja California and including the valleys of California. They are relatively large for a songbird (the word "song" is used lightly in this case), somewhere between a crow and a robin and have a rich azure blue and gray back, head, tail and wings, a pale gray belly, white throat bordered by a streaked, broken neckband.
California scrub jays have dark cheeks and a long, white hairstreak above their dark eyes. Their tails are long, and their stout, hooked bills are black. Their adult brain-to-body mass ratio is similar to that of dolphins and chimpanzees, placing them among the most intelligent animals on Earth.
They are primarily permanent residents and usually don't migrate unless food is extremely scarce. They can be found in low scrub habitats, oak woodlands and mixed evergreen forests but are also common inhabitants of urban backyards and parks. They can live from nine to fifteen years in the wild and pairs typically remain together for several years.
Nesting begins in March and lasts through most of the summer. Both partners help select the nest location, but construction is primarily up to the female while the male oversees the job. Nests are well-hidden and made of twigs and are lined with soft plant fibers, roots and livestock or pet hair. One to five pale green or gray eggs splotched with olive or brown are laid in March or April and hatch in about 18 days.
The nestlings remain in the nest for about the same amount of time and once they fledge, they hang around and mooch off their parents for a couple more months.
Almost anything is considered food and favorites change with the seasons. When the demands of a young family are at their peak during spring and summer, favorite meals include protein-rich insects, small animals such as lizards, other nestling birds and juvenile mice and voles along with fruits and nuts.
In fact, adult scrub jays have been observed following other birds and then raiding their nests. Acorns are always a favorite and jays will hold them with their feet and hammer at them with their bills using the hooked tip to extract the nut from the shell. They will also drop them from up high hoping the impact will crack them and they've been observed wedging them in places to peck at them.
They will also pillage cultivated crops like corn, almonds, walnuts, and fruit when available. If you have bird feeders you have probably noticed California scrub jays can be bullies and outcompete larger birds like crows over their love of sunflower seeds and peanuts. The jays that visit me always beat the crows to the peanuts and when there's a lot to pick from, they weigh each peanut and make off with the heavier ones - gluttons.
Crows on the other hand, can fit two peanuts in their beaks each trip so I'm not sure who the real winner is.
California scrub jays are masters at hoarding and stashing food. They are known as "planters of acorns" because they collect and stash them by the thousands and then don't always return to collect them. If they were hidden in a suitable place those acorns may sprout and produce additional oak trees.
They are also sly and often shoplift from other jays or acorn woodpeckers' stockpiles. These shifty birds have even been seen checking over their shoulders before raiding another bird's inventory. California scrub jays, with their big brains, also have the cognitive ability to plan ahead (metacognition).
They carefully choose where to hide their food hoard and then later, with their highly accurate and complex memories, recall where they put it.
They also check to make sure they aren't being watched by other crafty jays before retrieving their emporium, so they don't get swindled themselves. They've even been observed hiding rocks instead of food in order to discourage others from pirating from them and they will relocate their storehouse if it is discovered.
The California scrub jays in my neighborhood have grown to know me and fully expect to be recognized and acknowledged. When my garage door goes up, they frantically squawk at me from across the street in case I might forget that they're waiting. As soon as I put the peanuts down, they call to others with trills and clicks and swoop in with speed and accuracy. They're some of my favorite neighbors.
Edharis Tuleyome's Land Conservation and Stewardship program director. Tuleyome is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservation organization based in Woodland. For more information, visit http://www.tuleyome.org.
By Tuleyome's Land Conservation and Stewardship Program Director Kristie Ehrhardt
No comments:
Post a Comment